eric walter
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Wii not getting a hard drive because "it's like an iPod"
Although the Wii's Virtual Console channel has been a smashing success, there's always a price for fame: quite a few gamers are running up against the storage roadblocks of Nintendo's console and starting to wonder about expansion options beyond SD cards -- like, say, a hard drive. Sadly, however, Ninty's not having any of it, with Nintendo of America PR manager Eric Walter saying that "we really don't want people storing every single game they buy on their drive." Sounds silly, but since VC titles are yours for keeps, Nintendo's position is that you can delete games and "go back and get them any time," or, presumably, build a small library of SD cards. This odd line of reasoning also led Walter to say that he likens the situation "to putting music on your iPod; you listen to it for a while, and then you get tired of it, and you pull it off, and you put some new stuff on." Clearly Walter does not know how often we listen to the Clash on our iPods -- or how often we rock Super Mario Brothers 1 through 64. Either way, it looks like the mothership has spoken for now -- looks like it's up to the third parties to figure out a way to make it all better.[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Nintendo finds hard drive unnecessary
Ever since Wii Ware was announced, we've been wondering if Nintendo would be introducing a hard drive to help store games. Let's face it, 512 MB is not a lot of memory when it comes to storage space. Add your game saves and virtual console purchases to the mix, and well, things might get pretty tight. We reported in June that Nintendo UK said "no" to a hard drive. NoA's Public Relations manager Eric Walter recently confirmed this stance, explaining Nintendo's reasoning behind the issue:"... We really don't want people storing every single game they buy on their drive. When you buy a game, it's yours forever, so you can delete it, and go back and get it at any time you want. In a way, we liken it to putting music on your iPod; you listen to it for a while, and then you get tired of it, and you pull it off, and you put some new stuff on."We're disappointed by Nintendo's take on this. We know that we can delete our stuff and redownload it, but it would just be easier to keep it there in the first place. What about you? Do you think a hard drive will become a necessity soon?
